With the general election just days behind us, it seems the political tensions are rising once again in San Bernardino County. On Wednesday morning (November 7th) Sheriff Rod Hoops announced his retirement after 34 years of working in the county department. Hoops went on to further endorse a successor, Assistant Sheriff John McMahon. The practice of Sheriff’s appointing their own replacement, with the assistance of the Board of Supervisors, is a long-held tradition in San Bernardino County. For the past 54 years any opponent outside this ‘network’ of political favor has been unsuccessful – but that may be changing. In the 2010 Sheriff’s election Rod Hoops, after completing his predecessor Gary Penrod’s term, was elected by 66.86% of the electorate. Paul Schrader was second in line with 21.51% of the vote. It is this man, Paul Schrader, who has the consent of the people to represent them. Paul Schrader is a Rancho Cucamonga resident with 30 years of law enforcement experience who champions personal liberties and fiscal responsibility. Schrader announced his bid for the 2014 sheriff’s race earlier this year. Since that time, he has met members, and organizations of the community to spread his message and assess the county’s needs. America was built on the foundation of a representative government, the constitution “guarantee[s] to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government”. If this ideal is still held true today, why then would we allow a few elected officials to remove power from the people by forcing an appointment? The only logical step would be to create a special election or for the Board of Supervisors to directly appoint Paul Schrader to the position of Sheriff. The question here is not the qualifications or capability of John McMahon, but rather the sanctity and integrity of the voting process itself. The voices of over 38,000 individuals should greatly outweigh those of a few political players. Regardless of your opinions on the candidates – the right to choose our representatives is essential to our society, and it is worth defending.